956 A Be (1/2)
Meng Mingshu still hadn't decided what kind of face he should put on even when he was already in the hall of the Governor's mansion. 'Should I act like a helpless victim or a successor of the Meng family who still has some pride left?' He thought that this was all Lü Qiying's fault. That man had listed a series of reasons of why they should side with the Central Plainsmen but he hadn't told the Second Young Master Meng how he could make this show flawless.
Meng Mingshu knew almost everybody in this hall. When the Meng family had been in its prime, these people had been the circle of friends of his family. They were also the small group of elites of Jade City. Now, they were a group of curious onlookers with rich feelings, who were planning on siding with the one who eventually got the large amount of wealth.
Meng Mingshu moved his eyes aside and saw the Dragon King. He involuntarily felt a cold shiver run through him. The corner of his lips twitched briefly. Now, he had to act like a victim, one that everybody, weak or strong, could bully. And he also had to put on a slightly indignant and sad face. So, he cupped his hands before his chest to pay his respects to these people. When he faced Pang Jing, he gave a special bow.
”Ladies and gentlemen.” When Meng Mingshu uttered the first three words, he found that his voice was just as composed as before, so he was very pleased. Even the panic in him greatly reduced. ”With the help of the noble Governor of the Western Regions, I invited you all here because there's one thing that I need your support with – seeking justice for the Meng family.”
Everybody pretended that they were listening carefully, but they all slightly moved their heads to get a better view of the Dragon King with the corners of their eyes, wondering how this person who had robbed the Meng family of their wealth would react. Pang Jing was the only one who boldly stared squarely at the Dragon King, a smile on the corner of his lips. Luo Qikang was standing beside him with his head down, not looking at anybody.
The Dragon King's face remained calm. Pang Jing felt a great admiration for this young man who was a couple of years younger than him. He was slightly surprised that this man could still keep his composure even when facing this sudden assault from the successor of the Meng family. But the Dragon King's body slightly tilted to the left, he exhibited a trace of surprise and vigilance.
Pang Jing took a step backwards, getting closer to Luo Qikang. He believed that the Dragon King was too sensible to do anything reckless, but he still chose to be cautious, just in case.
Meng Mingshu felt fear creep up his spine again. Nobody in the hall gave a responses. Even the Governor of the Western Regions stayed silent. This was not the trap that Lü Qiying had described. Wasn't the Central Plainsman supposed to step forward now and back him up at this moment? Meng Mingshu gave out two coughs, emboldened himself, and then continued. ”As you all know, about a year ago, the Meng family suffered a disastrous loss. My father was murdered. Then the vault of our old mansion as well as our trading companies and banks in various areas of the Western Regions were all robbed.”
Finally, somebody spoke out in Meng Mingshu's support. As if he could never change his lecturing tone, there was a hint of accusation in Zhang Ji's voice. ”There's a lord from the Central Plains here. The Meng family has finally found someone who can help the Meng family obtain justice.”
This remark sounded fairly strange, but Meng Mingshu didn't mind it, and replied, ”That's true. If it weren't for the Governor of the Western Regions, I wouldn't have had the courage to come here to seek justice.”
Pang Jing moved his eyes off of the Dragon King. ”The Second Young Master Meng is overestimating me. If it weren't for the fact that the Jade City is leaderless for the moment, the Central Plainsmen wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles to come here. To be honest, I've always been worried that the residents here feel that the Central Plains are being a busybody by trying to take control of this city by force.”
The truth had been revealed in such an explicit way. Over thirty bigwigs in Jade City contradicted him, saying that the Central Plains was the savior as well as the source of stability of Jade City, and that by no means should the Central Plains be deemed a busybody.
Only a couple of them had remained silent out of prudence.
Pledging his allegiance to the Central Plains took Meng Mingshu a short amount of time. After that, he stood there awkwardly, too afraid to look at the Dragon King.
Pang Jing believed that it was time for him to speak. He raised his hand, signaled the crowd to quiet down, and said amiably, ”But I'm a little confused. I've been in Jade City for over a month. Why didn't the Meng family ask me to help you seek justice earlier?”
”Because I've been trying to find clues and evidence.” Meng Mingshu was relieved. It was not until this moment that he felt that this conference was an actual a trap that had been promised by Lü Qiying instead of a one-man show.
”Did the Second Young Master Meng find the whereabouts of the stolen money?” someone asked. That person had a premonition that this was going to be quite a good show, so he had decided to snatch a role for himself in advance, believing that he might be rewarded afterwards.
”The whereabouts of the money is still unknown, but I finally figured out who robbed my family.” Meng Mingshu had been preparing to make this remark for a long time, so he was able to say this in a firm and positive tone, fully expressing the indignation and sense of justice that a victim should possess.
Nobody dared to ask who that person was. Even those who wanted to most fawn on the Meng family and the high-ranking Central Plains official kept silent at this moment, darting their eyes back and forth. They also tried to get as far away from the Dragon King as possible, preparing the surprised look that they would put on in a short while.
”Who was it?” Unexpectedly, a voice came from the corner. Everyone's eyes flicked over, wondering who this reckless person was.
Lotus stared back at the crowd. The look in her eyes was so apathetic that it seemed as if they contained the coldness of the winter in Jade City, as if all the trees and grass that her eyes swept across would wither.
'A maniac.' This impression of her, which everybody already had, became even deeper. Nobody dared to look her in the eye.
Meng Mingshu's heart also lurched when he saw her eyes. Horrified, he paused for a quite a while before re-gathering his courage and turning around. First, he told himself to stand steadily, and then he looked the Dragon King in the eyes and said, ”Dragon King, please return the money to the Meng family.”
Now, everybody could move their eyes to the Dragon King without any concern. There was a perfectly affected look of surprise on everybody's face. Someone even dropped their teacup.
Shangguan Ru couldn't help but let out a laugh, and then she hurriedly turned her head aside and pretended to be coughing.
As if he had either not heard Meng Mingshu's words or not have any ideas as to how he should react, the Dragon King just stood there with an expressionless face.
Pang Jing, the Governor of the Western Regions, was the first one to question him, and his tone was stern and formal. ”Meng Mingshu, I can understand that you want justice, but I never expected you to make this move. You accused the Dragon King of robbing your family of your money. Are you courting death?”